BACKGROUND: Neonatal screening programs for sickle cell disease are common in North America and in some European countries. Isoelectric Focusing or High Performance Liquid Chromatography is the main ... [more ▼]

BACKGROUND: Neonatal screening programs for sickle cell disease are common in North America and in some European countries. Isoelectric Focusing or High Performance Liquid Chromatography is the main technique used for hemoglobin variant detection. METHODS: Since tandem mass spectrometry is being used for screening of inherited metabolic disorders and allows protein identification, we had developed an application to identify the most relevant hemoglobin mutations with this technology. RESULTS: This approach had been previously validated and has been routinely applied in our laboratory for the last three years. We report here our experience with this new method in the field, applied to our East-Belgian population. CONCLUSIONS: To conclude, mass spectrometry provides an efficient alternative approach for laboratories performing neonatal screening of hemoglobin disorders. [less ▲]

Continuing our monitoring of Pluto's atmospheric temperature and pressure, previously shown by us to be increasing (Elliot et al., Nature 424, 165, 2003; Pasachoff et al., AJ 129, 1718, 2005) and subsequently found by us to be leveling off (Elliot et al., AJ 134, 1, 2007), we report on a stellar occultation by Pluto of UCAC2 mag=15.3, observed from South America and Africa on 4 July 2010 UT. Success was achieved with a 0.45 m at Cerro Calan using one of our POETS (Portable Occultation, Eclipse, and Transit System; Souza et al. PASP 118, 1550, 2006), a 1.0 SMARTS (Small and Medium Aperture Research Telescope System) at Cerro Tololo, four 0.6 m telescopes of PROMPT (Panchromatic Robotic Optical Monitoring and Polarimetry Telescopes) on Cerro Tololo, and TRAPPIST's (TRansiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope) 0.6-m telescope on La Silla in Chile; the 0.35 m telescope of U. Ponta Grossa, Brazil; and the 0.75-m ATOM (Automatic Telescope for Optical Monitoring), Namibia, using POETS. Winds prevented opening the 6.5 m Magellan/Clay telescope on Las Campanas, Chile, with its own frame-transfer camera, and clouds obscured the 1.9 m telescope at Sutherland, South Africa, which had POETS. With shadow velocity 23.6 km/s, it was a rapid event: maximum occultation <2 minutes. The observations were supported in part by grants NNX08AO50G to Williams College and NNX10AB27G to MIT from NASA's Planetary Astronomy Division, and NNH08AI17I to USNO for astrometry. Student participation was supported in part by NASA's Massachusetts Space Grant and NSF's REU. Japan's government donated U. Chile's Cerro Calan Goto telescope. PROMPT observations were made possible by the Robert Martin Ayers Science Fund. TRAPPIST is a project driven by the University of Liège, in close collaboration with the Observatory of Geneva, supported by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research and the Swiss National Science Foundation. [less ▲]

A wavelet-based methodology is applied to relevant climatic indices and air temperature records and allow to detect the existence of unexpected cycles. The scale spectrum shows the presence of two cycles ... [more ▼]

A wavelet-based methodology is applied to relevant climatic indices and air temperature records and allow to detect the existence of unexpected cycles. The scale spectrum shows the presence of two cycles of about 30 and 43 months, respectively, in the air–temperature time series, in addition to the well-known cycles of 1 day and 1 year. The two cycles do not affect the globe uniformly: some regions seem to be more inﬂuenced by the period of 30 months (e.g. Europe), while other areas are affected by the period of 43 months (e.g. North-West of the USA). Similar cycles are found in the indices and the regions inﬂuenced by these indices: the NAO index and the Western Europe display a cycle of 30 months, while the cycle of 43 months can be found in the ENSO index and in regions where it is known to have an impact. [less ▲]

in Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (2009), 99(10.1785/0120080024), 2681-2703

The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) is a ~1500-km-long, arcuate, dextral strike-slip fault zone in northern Turkey that extends from the Karliova triple junction to the Aegean Sea. East of Bolu, the fault ... [more ▼]

The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) is a ~1500-km-long, arcuate, dextral strike-slip fault zone in northern Turkey that extends from the Karliova triple junction to the Aegean Sea. East of Bolu, the fault zone exhibits evidence of a sequence of large (Mw>7) earthquakes that occurred during the 20th century that displayed a migrating earthquake sequence from east to west. Prolonged human occupation in this region provides an extensive, but not exhaustive, historical record of large earthquakes prior to the 20th century that covers much of the last 2000 years. In this study, we extend our knowledge of rupture events in the region by evaluating the stratigraphy and chronology of sediments exposed in a paleoseismic trench across a splay of the NAF at Destek, ~6.5 km east of Lake Ladik (40.868°N, 36.121°E). The trenched fault strand forms an uphill-facing scarp and associated sediment trap below a small catchment. The trench exposed a narrow fault zone that has juxtaposed a sequence of weakly-defined paleosols interbedded with colluvium against highly-fractured bedrock. We mapped magnetic susceptibility variations on the trench walls and found evidence for multiple visually unrecognized colluvial wedges. This technique was also used to constrain a predominantly dip-slip style of displacement on this fault splay. Sediments exposed in the trench were dated using both charcoal and terrestrial gastropod shells to constrain the timing of the earthquake events. While the gastropod shells consistently yielded 14C-ages that were too old (by ~900 years), we obtained highly reliable 14C-ages from the charcoal by dating multiple components of the sample material. Our radiocarbon chronology constrains the timing of seven large earthquakes over the past 3000 years prior to the 1943 Ladik earthquake, including event ages (including 2 sigma error):1437-1788AD, 1034-1321AD, 549-719AD, 17-585AD (1-3 events), 351BC-28AD, 700-392BC, 912-596BC. Our results indicate an average inter-event time of 385±166yrs (1 sigma) [less ▲]

The North Anatolian Fault is a ~1200 km long right-lateral strike-slip fault that forms the northern boundary of the Anatolian plate. A damaging sequence of earthquakes ruptured almost the entire fault in ... [more ▼]

The North Anatolian Fault is a ~1200 km long right-lateral strike-slip fault that forms the northern boundary of the Anatolian plate. A damaging sequence of earthquakes ruptured almost the entire fault in the twentieth century. This study adds to the growing number of paleoseismic investigations on the 350 km long 1939 Erzincan earthquake rupture segment, which is toward the eastern end of the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey. Using three paleoseismic trenches located along about 2km of the principal fault strand, this study determines the timing of five earthquakes prior to the 1939 earthquake. The first three earthquakes are correlated to historical earthquakes in A.D. 1668, 1254, 499 and two further events were identified at 881 – 673 B.C. and 1406 – 1291 B.C. (2σ age ranges). By comparing the earthquake timing determined in this study to the results of other paleoseismic investigations on the 1939 rupture segment, it becomes clear that this historical rupture segment does not always rupture in unison. This analysis indicates that the A.D. 499 earthquake was the last time the 1939 rupture segment ruptured in unison; although partial ruptures of the 1939 rupture segment occur more frequently and also produce large magnitude earthquakes (> Mw 7). [less ▲]